Relatives of the family killed by carbon monoxide poisoning earlier this year say they are pleased with the coroner's decision to hold an inquest into the deaths.

The Rusk family says they hope the Yukon government will establish safety standards to protect others from the tragedy of carbon monoxide poisoning in honour of their family.

Last Jan. 29, Bradley, 45, Valerie, 37, Gabriel, 13 and Rebekah, 11 as well as family friend Donald McNamee, 47 were found dead by a friend in their Centennial Street home.

All had been feeling sick in the time leading up to their deaths. It was found they had been killed by carbon monoxide poisoning.

Last Friday, chief coroner Kirsten Macdonald announced plans to hold a public inquest into the deaths.

It will be presided over by a coroner and jury, and "will publicly hear evidence from subpoenaed witnesses in order to determine the facts surrounding the deaths,” said a news release.

The jury will be able to make recommendations aimed at preventing deaths from similar circumstances.

None of these recommendations are legally binding.

A date for the inquest has not been set.

"As a family, we continue to grieve and seek understanding for our tragic loss. We are pleased to hear that a formal public inquest will be held,” the Rusk family said in a statement to the Star.

"Carbon monoxide poisoning is not discriminatory – it can happen to the young or to the old, to those in new or old homes; it doesn't care about the colour of your skin, the faith you practise, or where you live.”

The family said it hopes meaningful dialogue can take place to "identify the complexity of factors” that ended in tragedy.

"In remembrance of Brad, Val, Gabriel, and Rebekah Rusk, as well as Donald McNamee, we hope the Yukon government will take this opportunity to become leaders within Canada by establishing safety standards to protect others from the tragedy of carbon monoxide poisoning,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, an empty lot is all that is left of the rented home where the five bodies were found.

The house, located at 1606 Centennial St. in Porter Creek, was approved for demolition by the city's Public Works Department on July 9, according to Matthew Grant, a spokesperson for the City of Whitehorse.

Grant said he was not sure when the home was actually torn down.

Three days after the first permit, a building permit was issued which allows the city to come and inspect the property after the demolition is complete.

The city has not been called yet to do that inspection, Grant said today.

The fact that the house has been torn down will not affect the ability to hold an inquest, the coroner said today.

Documents list the property as being owned by a numbered company — 10785 Yukon Ltd.

That company is owned by Fae Jamieson and Geraldine Tuton.

When firefighters entered the home on the day the five bodies were found, it was discovered that carbon monoxide levels in the home were 10 times what would have set off a standard carbon monoxide detector.

There were no such detectors in the home.

In the weeks and months following the deaths, much of the territory's attention was focused on the deadly gas.

Carbon monoxide detectors flew off Whitehorse store shelves, with many businesses having to order urgent supplies to keep up with the demand.

A report by the territory's fire marshal concluded that the deaths were accidental, caused by an ice blockage in the top two feet of the chimney.

Investigators found that the inner lining of the brick chimney had deteriorated and debris was found at the lowest point in the chimney.

The report confirmed a problem suggested by multiple boiler experts in the weeks following the tragedy.

The home's Burnham V-73 boiler had a firing rate of 1.05 gallons per hour of fuel oil.

The burner, a Riello 40-F3, had a nozzle capable of delivering only 0.65 gallon per hour of fuel, nearly 50 per cent less than what the boiler requires.

"Flue gases produced will be at a lower temperature. When the flue gases are subjected to low outside winter temperatures, they condense and allow the products of combustion to accumulate within the chimney lining,” the report says.

"During freeze thaw conditions, as the products freeze they expand, spalling the masonry and allowing the lining to break apart and fall within the chimney.”

It was also revealed that five reports on the safety of oil-burning appliances in the territory had been completed for the government since 2007.

The most recent report, completed by Rod Corea of Ontario's NRG Resources in 2010, recommends a change in legislation when it comes to installing and maintaining oil-burning appliances.

One of these recommendations includes a mandatory training and licensing program for oil burner mechanics.

Corea found that of the 305 appliances inspected during the three-year period, only four were up to code.

That's a 99-per-cent failure rate.

In the last survey, Corea re-inspected 42 appliances he had looked at in previous surveys. He found 220 infractions, 67 per cent of them considered "significant”.

This week, Opposition leader Liz Hanson said she is relieved the inquest is being called so that friends and family can have their questions answered.

She also suggested it may be time to modernize the territory's Coroner's Act, adding updates which would compel any recommendations from the jury to occur.